“Sit by me on this log and we’ll look at it while I tell you. According to legend, when we die, there is a Bridge we must cross in order to enter Heaven. At the head of this Bridge waits every animal that we have met during our lifetime. These animals will know us and know how we treated them and the earth while we lived. They will decide which of us may cross the Bridge and which will be turned away.”

Michael Fishman said,

What sold me on this story was the grandson’s comment: “Not yet.” because rather than having him simply saying, “No”, it implied that the grandfather has told him many stories already and I liked that perceived bond. I hope the grandson doesn’t cross the bridge for many decades!

Thank you for taking the time to comment. My story is based on Native American legend so the fact that the grandson said not yet is in line with their storytelling culture. Elders in their culture are respected for their knowledge and wisdom. Something we of the “light-skinned race” are missing in our modern technological culture.

Ha ha ha! I love this. In our traditional setting in Ghana, we believe that there is a river we cross when we die and so coins (money) are placed in the coffin of the dead to pay their passage into the land of the ancestors. Somehow, I was reminded of this when I read your story. But I do love the boy and his grandpop and the humour. Well done. Mine is here: http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/friday-fictioneers-sinking-low/

I totally respect our Native American and Canadian peoples. Their culture, though for the most part gone due to colonization, is full of beautiful stories, myths and legends, as are the cultures of your beautiful Africa. Here is a website you may be interested in.